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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27425074">Someone You Could Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenryder/pseuds/ravenryder'>ravenryder</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Chat Noir Adrien Agreste and Ladybug Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, LadyNoir - Freeform, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Marichat, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Miraculous Ladybug - Freeform, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square Angst, Miraculous Ladybug Season/Series 03, Miraculous Ladybug Season/Series 04, Miraculous Ladybug Spoilers, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir - Freeform, Mutual Pining, Nino is team adrienette, Pining, Slow Burn, adrienette - Freeform, but not too slow, everything how it NEEDS to happen, everything how it should happen, gratuitous fan service</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:07:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,799</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27425074</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenryder/pseuds/ravenryder</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>(Spoiler Warning: Post-Season 3 Events) Marinette has witnessed the end of all hope for romance between Adrien and herself, and relinquished her hold on him to the worthy Kagami once and for all. But life doesn't always work out like you think it will. While everyone else in his life may be confident one way or another about how he feels, Adrien isn't. And it's not until Marinette gives up on him shortly after he gave up on his own Lady that the foolish model is able to see what he really wants.<br/>And just like that, we see how every corner of their weird little love square become a bit clearer. And would THAT have been so hard, Monsieur Astruc?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Sad Start to A Mostly Cheerful Story</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Marinette is heartbroken, Adrien is repressed, and nothing is as it should be. And for whatever reason, there is the only ONE person around who cares enough to see it!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marinette Dupain-Cheng woke screaming at precisely 4:32 AM that morning.</p><p>The small dwelling above the family bakery that they’d managed to make into a home went largely undisturbed before that. All was quiet and sleepy until Marinette came barreling into reality to the soundtrack of absolute, unfettered torture and agony in the form of her dreaming of her crush, Adrien Agreste, kissing his now new more-than-a-friend, Kagami-- the <em> picture </em>of perfection!</p><p>All her dreams these days were nothing more than peerless cruelty to the poor girl’s heart, and Marinette groaned as she rolled over in the bed, accepting her fate of a never-ending march of sleepless nights and the kind of pain that sat on her chest and didn’t get up.</p><p>She sighed and tossed her sheets off, pulling herself out of bed with the sanguine energy of someone too tired to cry. Though her heart might be wanting her to stay under the covers for days or weeks or even years, Marinette was not the kind of girl to lay in bed in torture. If she was going to be tortured, she was at least going to be productive!</p><p>Marinette slumped down at her sewing table, picking up the half-finished skirt she had been working on before all the teeth brushing and nightmarish depictions of her already-miserable reality took her away from her work. She traced her finger along the freshly stitched hem, thinking of the simple beauty of a design come to life, art in its most accessible form created through the culmination of countless efforts, resulting in one exquisite piece.</p><p>Marinette gave a breathy little sigh. It’s what she lived for.</p><p>She put the skirt back under the needle, and set to work. With work to distract her, Marinette could almost forget the insecurities she’d just had subconsciously warped and weaponized against her. She could forget the taunts that poured from the lips of that boy she loved, the promises he made to never love her back. Forget the crack that formed in her heart as she watched him kiss Kagami right in front of her.</p><p>For the second time.</p><p>It’d been a month since that day. Since Marinette watched as Kagami kissed Adrien in the park, after the battle. Watched them huddle together with their ice cream after, two spoons and matching smiles, sweeter than sugar. Watched her last hope of ever being loved back by Adrien Agreste die.</p><p>This isn’t the first time she’s dreamt of it. Practically every day, Marinette had had some dream of that day, of that fight, of what she had done by picking Kagami and what Adrien had done by doing the same. She hadn’t actually dreamt of their kiss until now, though. That was new.</p><p>Every time Marinette felt like she was getting over it, she suddenly wasn’t all over again. Adrien and Kagami had been dating for a month already and still, she could barely look at the two of them. Luka took her to the library one time, and she escaped in the bathroom just because Kagami walked in!</p><p><em> No. No more. This insane jealousy, this unwillingness to let go of my heartbreak and my Adrien needs to stop! If I’m ever going to be friends with Adrien again - or Kagami, for that matter - I need to accept what I cannot change and learn to love someone else. Or learn how to be someone who </em> can <em>love someone else. </em></p><p>Marinette sat up a little straighter as she adjusted the skirt for a second stitch. She wasn’t going to be this person anymore. She wasn’t going to be the person who couldn’t get over her crush on her friend’s boyfriend. She wasn’t going to be the person who cries quietly over a skirt through the night (even if it comes out fabulous either way). She didn’t want to be that pathetic person anymore, someone Adrien could never love. She wanted to be someone Adrien could love.</p><p>Fuck! This was going to be harder than she thought.</p><p>The skirt did indeed still turn out fabulous the next day - but there were some obvious imperfections. The buyer on Etsy said in his review of the item that he <em>“could have done without the tears in the fabric. Four stars.”</em></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Kagami was waiting for Adrien outside after school the next day. The long, black car that accompanied her everywhere she went - to match his own, of course - was parked right behind her, the door open and awaiting him. Adrien smiled, and walked down the front steps of the school toward her.</p><p>He spotted Marinette on his walk past her toward the car. She was standing at the bottom of the staircase, staring out in the direction of the car, and it seemed Kagami had noticed her too.</p><p>Kagami waved, awkward and unpractice, and Marinette half-smiled back. However, when she turned away, Adrien could see her expression, and the cat was <em> confident </em>he’d never seen the princess look so crestfallen!</p><p>Adrien set his chin and changed his course for Marinette, walking right up to with a cheerful “Hey Marinette!” on his lips and clear determination to find out what was going on with his friend and help in any way he could.</p><p>Sadly, his efforts were in vain. The fair maiden did not stop to greet the boy back, walking right by him as if he were a ghost or apparition, veiled as all the world was to her in the moment by sadness and a hurt Adrien could not see. Adrien just stared as she continued to drift off in the vague direction of her house, wishing more than anything to take her pain away.</p><p>But he couldn’t, and he couldn't entirely understand the impulse. So he kept walking toward Kagami’s car, greeting his sort-of-something with a smile and a shy peck on the cheek. It was his attempt to take things slow, while they’re still going somewhere. Not that he had any idea <em> where </em>they were going, that is.</p><p>“How was school, Adrien?” Kagami asked as soon as they’d settled into the car, the dull rumble of the road rising up as they slowly joined traffic.</p><p>The question was forced, a little uncomfortable. It was a question his mother would’ve asked, in just the same way (formality and affection in just the right combination to make him feel interviewed). He didn’t mind that sort of thing - he got the feeling that Kagami got a lot of their conversation topics from Couple Question and Conversation Starter listicles on the web anyway - but it did make for an uneasy start to their afternoon together.</p><p>Still, it was nice to spend his afternoons with somebody for once.</p><p>“It was pretty good!” Adrien said, shaking off his own social shortcomings to share the news of his day, which he had to admit he was excited to do. “Nino had Alya and I over for our lunch break this afternoon, since Nathalie forgot to fill in that part of my schedule today. We invited Marinette but she had to go help out at her dad’s bakery last minute, and insisted they wouldn’t have all our help. It was a bummer since we haven’t hung out in a while, but Nathalie could tell I was disappointed when she called and convinced my dad to let her cancel my Chinese lesson today!”</p><p>“Why would you want her to cancel your lesson?” Kagami said, waiting patiently until he had finished all his hand gestures before inquiring. “I would relish the opportunity to expand my knowledge and skill set.”</p><p>“O-Oh, right, I do relish that,” Adrien said, all polite shyness and good breeding. “I love learning! I just could... sometimes use a break from the constant lessons and appointments, you know?”</p><p>“I understand. I have a similar schedule and occupation because of my mother’s training.”</p><p>Relieved. “So you get it!”</p><p>A beat. “Quite honestly, no. Do you not enjoy learning Mandarin?”</p><p>“N-no, I do--”</p><p>“What about Japanese? Fencing? Piano? Modeling? Tennis? Trains? Tractors--”</p><p>“I-I don’t think you’re listing my extracurriculars anymore,” Adrien said, a little intimidated by the speeding intensity of Kagami’s attention when it clocked on to one subject (and ready to admit that maybe intimidation was one of the reasons he liked Kagami). “Are tractors a hobby?”</p><p>“Yes.” Kagami half-smiled then, and Adrien decided he felt a butterfly in his stomach at the look she gave him. “If you don’t enjoy these things, you shouldn’t do them, Adrien.”</p><p>“No, I-” Adrien paused, settling on his small mistruth of the day. “I enjoy them. Seriously. I don’t know what I was talking about before, I’m sorry.”</p><p>Kagami regarded him with a searching look, but he knew she would come up empty. People usually did. Whether from skill at hiding it or unfortunate lack of trying, Adrien’s emotions could not be read by other people.</p><p>“Well, if that’s true then you’re going to love the date I have planned for us,” Kagami said, right as the wheels of the car rolled to a stop. Adrien tried not to squeal.</p><p>“You planned a date for us?” Adrien said, such a mix of elation and surprise and uncertainty he hardly knew what to do with himself. “I thought we were just gonna study at my house, like always..”</p><p>Kagami’s gaze was unwavering. “No. I thought it would be better for our relationship to do something we both enjoy. Let’s go,” she said, and climbed out of the car.</p><p>No, no, no. It was too soon. He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready for a <em> full date </em> with Kagami, he was hardly ready for a steady chat with Kagami! Certainly, it had been a month already of semi-regular interaction, at least under the shared understanding of exploring their feelings, but that didn’t mean Adrien was <em> ready </em>for all this.</p><p>He had to find a way out. He would fake an akuma attack, maybe. Adrien told himself he would call in Ladybug 911 if he really had to, but that was before he actually opened the car door and stepped out to their date location.</p><p>It was a fencing facility, just a few miles away from the school, where they take their lessons. Adrien was staring baffled as Kagami unlocked their fencing equipment from the trunk before her driver could, before finally turning to her to ask.</p><p>“I would never miss an opportunity to spar with you, but don’t you think we do enough fencing the rest of our time together?” Adrien said, secretly dreading the idea of more practice when he had <em> finally </em>gotten out of it for one day. “Wouldn’t you like to do something new together? Or more… date-ish?”</p><p>“I can’t think of anywhere more romantic than here,” Kagami said, straightening up before tossing Adrien his sabre, watching him catch it easily in the air by the pommel. “Nor anything more representative of our perfect compatibility.”</p><p>“Perfect…” Adrien said, with an equally forced smile. Kagami surged ahead to change into her gear, considering the discussion closed, and Adrien stood there for a minute, feeling a bit closed himself.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The place that Alya drags Nino to that fixes camera lenses is totally whack, bro. The ceilings are moldy, the lighting is bad, and Nino is pretty sure the guy behind the counter is the only one to enter the building in like eighty years. But Alya gave him that look when he pointed out just the first health code violation, so he decided to watch quietly nearby until she was done.</p><p>Ultimately, he did think she got a pretty good deal, and was about to tell her so when something caught his eye across the street. Two very familiar blue-haired teenagers were sitting at the window of the hipster tea &amp; poetry cafe across the street, and Nino couldn’t have been more psyched to see them.</p><p>And then, all of a sudden, he could have been <em> way </em>more psyched to see them.</p><p>Because he was seeing them sitting alone, close together, at a small table, while Marinette appeared to be crying and pouring her heart out to him, and Luka just sat there holding her hand and rubbing her back.</p><p>“Alya! Get <em>over</em> here,” Nino called out, too horrified at what he was witnessing to calibrate the crack in his voice.</p><p>“Whoa, look at the two of them!” Alya said as she came up behind her boyfriend, slinging one arm over his shoulder as she watched her best friend with pride. “I knew the girl had it in her. To cry on the shoulder of a cute guy, that is. Not actually go out with him or anything. Obviously.”</p><p>“How can you even say that!”</p><p>“Say what?”</p><p>“Alya! This is <em>terrible </em>news!” Nino rumpled his hat under his clawed hands in his panic, his hair, his shirt. “Marinette is going to go crying to this Luka dude, and Luka’s gonna swoop in on Adrien’s dudette, and <em> my </em>little dude is gonna end up sad and alone when he realizes what he missed out on with Marinette!”</p><p>“Whoa, whoa, whoa, <em>duuude...</em> chill,” Alya said, giggling as she ran her hands along Nino’s shoulders to calm him, raising her hand to rest against his face as he came down from whatever this Adrienette-driven tizzy was. “Nothing’s happening right now. And whatever happens in the future, it’s not our decision to make. If they choose to find love with other people instead of each other, that’s up to them. We have to let them move forward, right?”</p><p>Nino took a deep breath, meeting his honey’s hazel eyes and feeling a little bit more at peace for it. “Yeah… yeah, you’re right.”</p><p>Alya releases him with a sympathetic pat on his cheek. “For me, I’m just glad my girl is finally moving out of that all-consuming Agreste headspace. Make it'll help her relaxation for eight goddamn seconds (or Adderall could help I don't know).” Alya brushed past his shoulder on her way to the counter, feeling a touch more romantic overall. “Spending time with Luka is a sign Marinette is moving forward! It’s a healthy thing to do, don’t you think, <em> mon chère?” </em></p><p>Nino scoffed, and considered that as his being "privately concerned." He was glad for her departure, he didn’t think he had it in him to lie- and he COULD NOT believe that Marinette and Adrien giving up on each other was <em>the healthiest thing!</em> Nino had felt for a long time that those two belonged together - something about them just gravitated toward each other, he could <em> feel </em>it - and he worried to think what Marinette moving past her feelings for Adrien would do for his bro’s future potential happiness.</p><p>And his B.F.P.H was always Nino’s #1 concern! So it didn’t matter if Alya thought this was for the best, or Luka thought this was for the best, or Adrien’s dad, or Juleka, or anybody thought this was for the best. All he cared about was if <em> Adrien </em>thought it was for the best, and until he knew for sure what his best bro wanted... Nino was going to root for Adrien’s happiness.</p><p>And right now it was sitting thirty feet away from him in the arms of someone else.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Lark! A Rocky Continuation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Marinette makes a surprising discovery, and Adrien makes one of his own. Adrien realizes that as his time spent with Kagami increases, so does Marinette's with Luka. The two superheroes continue to orbit each other, as I hold out a bit longer on my promises of lighthearted fun and give in immediately on a little mutual pining, as a treat~</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For anyone for whom it is not yet apparent, I am Not spellchecking this shit. I have no beta reader, copyeditor, nor the energy to look over my work more than once before publishing it.<br/>However, I usually give the chapter a once-over and/or light edit a few days after I publish it, or before I publish the next one. Just something to keep in mind ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This is a pandemic story, written just for the time. Enjoy y'all~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was a steady stream of dreamy music echoing from the far side of the room - the side inhabited by Luka and his guitar and endless, endless spools of fabric - and Marinette could not have been more content on this Tuesday afternoon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luka had walked her home after school, knowing fully well she had to work on her designs, and there they still were an hour later. Luka was strumming his guitar and Marinette was hunched over her desk, sketching furiously and probably ruining her spine for life. There was a calm, complacent energy about the room, a comfort in the easy cohabitation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This energy existed up until the moment that Marinette stuck her hand in her tote bag in search of the lime green color pencil she knew to be tucked in the inside pocket, and came up with a grey daily planner that didn’t belong to her instead. That energy was shot and killed when Marinette opened the front cover to find that the planner belonged to none other than the heartbreaker himself, Adrien Agreste.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>“GAHHH!” </b>
  <span>Marinette shouted, throwing the cursed object across the room in an instead. “Adrien!!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette found herself rolling in her desk chair in the opposite direction, knocking into a pile of clothes and struggling to keep her balance. These were all the very attractive ways that Marinette attracted herself to Luka, who sat watching this all unfold ten feet away. He cocked his head at the girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel like I’m missing something,” the young, blue-haired man said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Th-Th-Tha-Th-That’s-” Marinette’s finger was pointed in the direction of the hefty gray book across the room, almost shaking from the pounding of her heart. “That’s A-Adrien’s planner. How did I get </span>
  <em>
    <span>Adrien’s daily freaking planner?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool your jets, funny girl,” Luka said, climbing off the stool where he was sitting to stroll up to the book, reaching down to pick it up. “We’ll get it sorted out easy enough. Are you worried someone will think you took it?’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! I just- How did I even get it?” Marinette whined, too distressed trying to figure out how this happened to care what anyone </span>
  <em>
    <span>else </span>
  </em>
  <span>would think about it. “I haven’t been able to even be near Adrien! I haven’t been able to look at him! How could this have ended up here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s okay,” Luka said, coming up behind her and placing the planner gently in her lap, before moving his hands over her shoulders comfortingly. “A mistake happened. A mistake that would be easy to fix, all you need to do is call your friend. Adrien is your friend, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right, but--” Marinette shook her head. “No. You’re right. I can’t obsess anymore, I should just text him and let him know I have it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulled out her phone, and smiled up at him. “Thanks, Luka.” Breathing easier, Marinette started typing out the message. And then stopped. “This is… exactly the sort of mishap I would have tried to turn into some ridiculous, lovesick scheme to get close to him. If this was just one month earlier, that’s exactly what I’d be doing. Making a fool of myself trying to get him to see me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He squeezed her shoulder, bending low to tuck his chin against her head. And that was all he needed to say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed like that for a while. They stayed like that even after her phone pinged in her lap. They stayed like that even as a car rolled up five minutes later. And they only broke apart when the hatch creaked open, and Adrien’s head popped through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hi!” Marinette said, clearing her throat as she brushed hair away from her eyes, feeling her emotions so plain on her face she could die right there. “Adrien! I didn’t think you would get here so soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My CrossFit lesson ended a few minutes ago, and it’s right nearby.” Adrien’s eyes passed between Marinette and Luka as he effortlessly pulled himself up into the room, growing incrementally more narrow every time they landed on the latter. “What’s, uh... what’s going on in here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luka raised his eyes from the floor, surprised at the note of suspicion straining in Adrien’s voice. He was normally such a nice guy…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette didn’t notice a thing. “CrossFit?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh god. His arms. His arms are going to get even better somehow, aren’t they?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s new,” Adrien said, flushed, and Marinette was the one surprised this time as she couldn’t help but sense some ingenuity in the way he pretended to be excited about the activity. “You guys working on a song together or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marinette just found your planner in her bag while we were hanging and thought you might need it,” Luka explained, nudging Marinette lightly in the back so she jerked the book up suddenly, holding it in his face while her own burning bright red. “We all know how busy you are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously, is he here to write a song or something? Are you guys writing a song together? Is it a song?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“H-Here you go, A-Adrien,” Marinette said, trying so hard to swallow the stuttering that has plagued her only in his presence for the last </span>
  <em>
    <span>three </span>
  </em>
  <span>years as she handed him his book back. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your daily schedule with this. I, umm, I know how busy you are and I… I just don’t know how this happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, Mari, it’s fine!” Adrien assured her, smiling that million-dollar Agreste smile and making her blush so much worse. “I know you would never do something like this on purpose. Thanks for taking such good care of it for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette was so red she thought she might burn up and die. All she could do was choke on the word, the word she’d probably be thinking about all night long, Lord help her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“M-Mari?!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she said, the fluttering in her stomach and her heart practically deafening in her ears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Adrien, Marinette and I were just about to play Mecha Strike III,” Luka said, rushing in to save the damsel under stress. “Care to join us? I heard your skills are mad and a must-see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien chewed his lip, a tad reluctant and more than a little frustrated. Goddamn it, Luka’s friendliness was disarming. He wasn’t looking to be disarmed by the shady schmuck slinking around in Marinette’s room, but there it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… wish I could,” Adrien relented, with a disappointed sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should stay,” Marinette said, her voice quiet but purposeful. A second later she peeked up at him under her bangs. He was already looking at her, with surprise that caused a flourish in his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I-” Now Adrien </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>wished he could. “Damn it. I, uh, have plans--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“--With Kagami,” Marinette finished, a bitter smile on her lips. “Right. Should have remembered.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A smile twitched on Adrien’s lips. “Have you been snooping in other people’s things, Miss Dupain-Cheng?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m only human,” Marinette said, waving the boy off with a sly smile. “If you’re determined to find error in it, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>suppose </span>
  </em>
  <span>you could call me nosy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Au contraire! </span>
  </em>
  <span>I would venture to find the </span>
  <em>
    <span>virtue </span>
  </em>
  <span>in it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>mon ami,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adrien said, grinning as he could feel his dramatics amp up every second. “I was just going to suggest next time you should save me the trouble of a straightforward text and an arranged retrieval and just plan some sort of… elaborate run-in. Since you have my schedule anyway. Don’t you think?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette giggled at that, a sincere and bubbling reaction that had more to do with the likeness of his idea to that of her own than the joke itself. Adrien was pleased nonetheless. “You mistake me, </span>
  <em>
    <span>monsieur</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I could never be so </span>
  <b>devious</b>
  <span>,” Marinette said, the twinkle in her eyes telling Adrien another story entirely. “Is something wrong, Adrien? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Cat got your tongue?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien coughed back the purr that threatened to make the situation way more awkward than it already was. “I, uhh… I should probably.. Yeah I should go,” Adrien said, looking toward the door like a dazed patient, post-surgery. “Kagami is waiting for me and…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luka was setting up the game on Marinette’s console, while Marinette paid careful attention to Adrien, more than he was even paying to himself. Because he was paying attention to Luka instead: Luka, who had just gotten the screen to blare the colors of Ultimate Mecha Strike III’s logo. Luka, who was handing Marinette a console. Luka, who was looking at him and waiting for him to leave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well, is your driver waiting for you?” Marinette asked, thoughtful, a hand raised to her pursed lips. “Do you want us to wait downstairs with you--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien waved his arms at her, looking more like a rabid bird than awkward teenager, already grabbing what he needed and backing up toward the hatch in the floor. “No, god, no. Gorilla’s waiting for me downstairs, he always is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The smile on her face was a little sad, but sweet, and genuine. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Adrien.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He died inside a little hearing those words. There was pain in his chest as he smiled back at her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Marinette.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bye, Adrien.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bye, Luka.” The smile on Adrien’s face was tight, and his grip on his planner even tighter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that, Adrien Agreste exited the building, taking deep breaths all the way home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Forty minutes later, Kagami and Adrien were hanging out in his bedroom for a parent-approved homework date, and still Adrien was thinking about Ultimate Mecha Strike III. All he could </span>
  <em>
    <span>think </span>
  </em>
  <span>about was Mecha Strike III.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And playing it at Marinette’s house. Playing with Luka and Marinette. Sitting between them all the while. And maybe he would walk Luka home afterward, just to keep the fun times coming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Clearly, Adrien needed to see more of his friends. He made a mental note of it, and returned to his science homework, marginally less encumbered by the thoughts clouding his mind that he could neither understand nor explain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Later on and back at Marinette’s house, Marinette and Luka were on a bathroom break from gaming, with Marinette returning from the kitchen to find Luka already back on the couch and a plate full of goodies and sodas for them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marinette, you are a flower in the winter, a song on a summer night,” Luka said, reciting poetry as easily as he grabbed a croissant off from the platter. His aqua blue eyes did not leave the younger girl until she sat down beside him on the little couch her father had installed a few weeks prior specifically for gaming, and was now pushing Tom Dupain’s only daughter into the personal space of an older boy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marinette, I…” Luka was unsure where to start, how to say everything he’s been meaning to say, and stretches his arm behind the couch, settling it around the back of her cushion to bring her close, feel her presence more acutely. “I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while how much I admire you.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can see how hard this has all been for you. I’m proud of you for accepting that Adrien is with someone else, and I hope it gets easier for you as you move forward in your life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Luka. I couldn’t have done this without you,” Marinette said, and meant it. “I really think I’m starting to get better at hanging out with him while staying aware that we’ll never be together. But it does mean that I… want to be alone. A little bit more.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I completely understand,” Luka said, standing up. “I should get going.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-No, I di-didn’t mean--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. But I should,” Luka grabbed his phone and keys, looking around for anything else when he stopped, leaning down slowly to reach her eyeline. “Before I go… I hope you’ll keep letting me see more of you. You’re a special girl and anyone who doesn’t see that isn’t worth your time, Marinette.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And with that he leaned in even closer, pressing a kiss to her right cheek that was so close to the corner of her mouth she wasn’t sure you could even call it </span>
  <em>
    <span>la bise. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And Marinette’s entire face burned pink to red to solid ash.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See you later, Marinette,” Luka said, waving over his shoulder with his backpack slung across his back. Marinette melted a little in her chair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See ya, Luka!” she squeaked back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then the hatch slammed shut, and the room fell into silence again. Deafening silence. Silence that echoed in Marinette’s soul. So she put down the gaming control in the seat beside her, and folded her hands in her lap. And then tightened her hands into a fist. And before she knew it, Marinette was out the window, dressed in red and sailing through the streets of Paris on only her heart and some string.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Adrien walked Kagami to her car later that night, he spotted Ladybug sitting alone atop an abandoned church belltower, a bright figure amid the shadows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His chest tightened at once, the sight of his bugaboo looks so faraway and lonely up on that belltower, wanting more than anything to be with her. Knowing perfectly well that he would spend the rest of the night thinking of her, of nothing but her, and there was nothing he could do about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, there was one thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien walked stiffly back inside, locked his bedroom window, and didn’t leave the mansion again until morning.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'd like to start out by saying that this is work of labor, love, and sadness. The first chapter is a testament to my sadness and frustration at that season 3 ending in promising Adrien &amp; Kagami and lowkey Luka &amp; Marinette. (I know the chances of Marinette and Adrien ending up with anyone other than each other are literally zero, but it still makes me really mad and hurt that they would play with us like this!) Now, don't let that scare you - this is not an angsty fic. No, the exact opposite. While it will start in a sad place - because that is where Thomas Astruc has naturally left us post-season 3 - this fic will be everything that I think could and SHOULD happen in season 4. The keys to my recipe are humor, chemistry, compatibility, connection, and a little bit of fan service. A little bit of slow burn because that's what we deserve, but also not too much because the writers do that to us enough as it is. Every side of the love square will be fostered and developed, so please enjoy this exploration of my dream for season 4!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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